BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL's Stephanie Discovers That Eric Isn't Ridge's Father
Massimo Morone recently tried to walk down memory lane with Stephanie by recalling their night of lovemaking, which occurred just before she met her future husband Eric Forrester. Stepg promptly told her ex-beau to drop it. But this week, La Forrester is forced to take that unsentimental journey anyway, following a freak accident involving her firstborn son, Ridge, Massimo and an unfortunately placed samurai sword. At the hospital, Eric and Stephanie lined up to donate blood – and as a result, Stephanie learned that Eric couldn´t have fathered Ridge.
“This is a pretty big bomb”, smiles Executive Producer/Head Writer Bradley Bell. “I wanted to write a story that would shake the foundation of this entire show and change its 15-year history. Stephanie has gone through all of these disasters to maintain the family integrity and the honor that goes with being a Forrester. Now, after all these years of calling Brooke a tramp, a liar and a woman with no morals, Stephanie is the one who made the ultimate blunder.”
When she learns the truth, Stephanie becomes highly agitated with the doctor, which Massimo witnesses. “He overhears Stephanie say, ‘Eric can´t lose his son,’” says Joseph Mascolo (Massimo). “Of course, Massimo assumes that something is wrong with Ridge, and he wants to help.” But when Massimo queries Stephanie about her remark, she screams for him to leave the hospital – pronto. As perplexed as he is by Stephanie´s extreme reaction, Massimo defers to her request. “She´s very upset, so he thinks it´s best to leave her alone – for now”, says Mascolo.
Unable to absorb what she´s been told, Stephanie staggers into Ridge´s hospital room and gazes at her sleeping son. “The doctor´s words echo in her head,” says Bell. “She then recalls that one night she had sex with Massimo, and as much as she doesn´t want to believe it, Stephanie comes to the horrifying realization that he is Ridge´s father.”
When Eric suddenly enters the room, Stephanie struggles to regain her composure. “She´s very uptight because she doesn´t know if Eric has talked to the doctor,” Bell explains. “But she calms down a little when Eric assures Stephanie that their son is going to be fine and that his injury hasn´t caused any permanent damage.”
Eric also admits his concern that Massimo may become an issue in their marriage. Stephanie declares to her husband that she loves him and the life they have built together. Steph promises that she will never allow anything – or anyone – to threaten their happiness. As they embrace, Stephanie silently vows that no one will ever know that Ridge is not Eric´s son.
Massimo returns to his office, where Sally soon shows up. “He tells Sally about what happened to Ridge and about Stephanie´s strange behavior at the hospital,” says Mascolo. “She assumes that Stephanie blames Massimo for the accident and that´s why she threw him out. But he says that Stephanie believed he was innocent and didn´t become upset until after she talked to the doctor.”
Sally speculates that Ridge´s medical tests might have uncovered some other condition. If that´s the case, Massimo wonders, what could have been so terrible that Stephanie wouldn´t want him to know? “He tells Sally, ‘Something is wrong here, but I´m going to get to the bottom of it,’” asserts Mascolo.
Meanwhile, Stephanie has decided to ignore the doctor´s news and resume her normal routine. Ridge is released from the hospital to convalesce at home. While Stephanie is at Forrester Creations, Eric pays a fatherly visit to his son. “Ridge suggests that Eric spend less time at the office and more time with Stephanie,” Bell says. Eric respond that Stephanie hasn´t seemed too interested in romantic getaways since Massimo hit town.
“Ridge doesn´t completely understand his mother´s past relationship with Massimo, except that they were dating before Eric came into her life,”, says Ronn Moss (Ridge). “He thought she was fond of Massimo, that´s all. But Ridge has seen his mother quickly drawn to Massimo. She always seem to be all over him whenever he´s around.”
Eric points out that Ridge must have gotten his fiery temperament from his mother because it certainly didn´t come from him. But Ridge counters that he wishes he was more like Eric, who gets the job done with diplomacy and dignity. “Ridge has always felt his dad is a class act,” affirms Moss.
In the meantime, Massimo is on a mission. “He just can´t leave the incident at the hospital alone,” previews Bell. “So, he shows up at Stephanie´s office to talk to her.”
Stephanie orders Massimo to leave, which further confounds him. When he presses for an explanation, Stephanie hedges by claiming that she´s trying to cope with something. “Massimo shares that he´s been checking on Ridge and knows that he´s doing fine,” says Bell. “Stephanie becomes irate and orders Massimo to stay away from Ridge.”
Stephanie´s reaction only strengthens Massimo´s resolve to find out what´s bugging her. “He says, ‘Look, if you´re not going to tell me, then I´m going to turn the hospital upside down until I find out what the truth is,’” Mascolo huffs.
And that will be a mother of all problems for Stephanie.
Many B&B viewers probably cried “Foul!” with the revelation that Eric is not Ridge´s dad. After all, the Forrester men took two paternity tests – in 1993 and 1996 – to determine who fathered Brooke´s daughter, Bridget. So wouldn´t the fact that Eric and Ridge are not biologically related have come up during such comprehensive testing?
Not necessarily, insists Bradley Bell. “Even if their blood types didn´t match during the first test, it wouldn´t have been an issue because of the assumption that Ridge was merely his mother´s blood type, and Stephanie´s blood wasn´t even considered then,” explains Bell. “That´s why it came up after Ridge´s accident this time. Both Stephanie and Eric donated blood, and it was determined that neither of their blood types matched Ridge – which meant there was another father.”
What about Bridget´s second paternity test, when Stephanie´s blood was included? “There was a very detailed analysis done, but it involved a DNA breakdown of the blood. What the lab really had overlooked at the time were the blood types because they were trying to see whose DNA matched with Bridget.” Bell explains that years ago, Stephanie didn´t suspect that her one-time fling with Massimo could have produced Ridge. “She had this night with Massimo, and after a month passed she still had her period, which can happen even if you´re pregnant,” explains Bell. “Then, Stephanie was with Eric. She believed 100 percent at the time – until now – that she had become pregnant by him.”
Soap Opera Digest, November 2001.